To Lose, To Gain
by indyjones1990
Summary: This story follows David Marcus, a young Resistance lieutenant and husband to Allison Young. Takes place before Season one episode 1 and after the events of "Born to Run." Some Jameron, mostly David/Allison *NEW CHAPTER SIX!*
1. The Scrubbing Room

**Okay, removed intro chapter and modified chapter four slightly. Chapter five is coming soon! I've just been uber busy!**

Chapter One.

The Scrubbing Room/Hello, Sam.

"Corporal!" I called out.

They young man turned to face me. "Sir?"

"Where's General Connor?"

"He's down in the scrubbing room, sir."

I nodded. "Alright, thanks." I turned around and started walking towards the scrubbing room. John had been trying to reprogram as many captured terminators as he could for the oncoming assault. Everyone was on edge. Even Cameron seemed a little anxious…

"David." A voice called out. _Well, speak of the devil._

"Yeah, Cameron?"

"John has been looking for you. He needs you down in the scrubbing room."

A young soldier makes some wise-crack about Cameron using the Generals first name. I turn and look at him, pointing my flashlight at him. "You, soldier. On your feet."

The soldier looks up at me, now realizing that he had been heard. He stands up quickly and salutes. "Yes, sir?"

"You said something; I don't believe that I heard it."

"He said, 'What gives that metal the right to use the Generals first name.'" Cameron said.

I nodded. "Is that true, soldier?"

The boy gulped. "Yes… yes sir, it is."

"And why would you say something like that?"

"Because that's what she is, sir. A metal. She has no right to be here, she has no right to be around General Connor. She's a threat."

His words echoed throughout my mind, throwing me into a flashback…

_I walked just in front of Cameron, coming back to the war room from a recent patrol. The two soldiers guarding the door to the war room see me coming. They stand up and salute. "Welcome back, lieutenant."_

_ "It's good to be back, boys. I need to have a word with the General."_

_ "Alrighty." One of the guards opens the door. I start to walk in, Cameron follows me in, but the guard holding the door open stops her. I turn back around._

_ "Gentlemen, is there a problem?"_

_ "She's a metal, sir. We're not allowed to let metal into the war room. You know that sir."_

_ I looked at Cameron for a moment. I thought I saw a look of pain on her face, but I couldn't be sure. A person would think that since her face looked just like Allison's, I'd be able to read Cameron…_

_ "Soldier, Cameron has more than proven where her allegiance lies. Not to mention that she has been programmed to fight for us, and to protect the General at all costs."_

_ "Maybe, sir. But other metals have gone bad, what's stopping her?"_

_ What was stopping Cameron? Well, her chip or chassis hadn't taken any damage upon her capture. Maybe that was it. "Her chip isn't damaged. It's almost brand new. The T-model terminators that have reverted back to their Skynet programming had chip damage. She doesn't. So, gentlemen, if you please, before I go to your superior…" _

_ One of the soldiers frowned. "Alright, sir. We trust you. But if she goes bad, it's going to be on YOUR head. If you still have one."_

_ I nodded, then motioned for Cameron to join me. She looked at me puzzled. "David, why wouldn't you have a head?"_

"David?" I heard Cameron ask me.

I looked over at her. "What? Oh, sorry." I looked back at the soldier. "Son, this girl has more than proven herself, not only to me, but to General Connor as well. I would place my life in her hands, and so would the General. You need to start showing some respect, understand me?" Son? I'm only 20 and I'm calling this boy "son?" I think I need to get away from here for a while…

The soldier looked up at me ashamed. "Yes sir. I will, sir."

I nodded. "Good. Now, apologize to Captain… Marcus." No one had ever given Cameron a last name. Since I kind of thought of her as a daughter, I figured my last name would do.

The soldiers eyes widened, but he did as he was told. "Yes, sir. You have my apologies, Captain Marcus."

Cameron nodded. "Thank you."

I saluted the boy. "As you were, soldier."

The boy sat back down and resumed talking to his friend. I continued walking down the hallway towards the scrubbing room. After we turned a corner, she gave me a funny look.

"David, you just referred to me as Captain Marcus."

I gulped. "Yeah."

"Why? We are not married, we do not share last names. I do not even have a last name." She stated.

"Cameron," I turned and looked at her. "Aside from John, who have you spent most of your time with?"

"You."

"And who has tried to teach you what phrases to use when, the values of human life, and what humans do when they show affection?"

She tilted her head to the right. "You."

"So, because of that, because I have tried to teach you all of these things, what position would that kind of give me?"

Again, she paused. "There are three possible choices. One, you are a teacher. Two, you are a parent, or three, you are a sibling."

I sighed. "Well, I'm not sure of too many people that teach everything I have taught you. So that leaves me with parent or sibling." I swallowed hard, then looked Cameron in the eyes. I was startled for a moment because her eyes were glowing blue. Then I realized that it was kind of dark, she was probably using night vision. I took a breath before continuing. "I have often thought of you as my daughter, simply because I'm constantly teaching you things. But, because you look identical to… Allison, I have thought of you as a sister in law. Does that make sense?"

Cameron tilted her head a little farther over. "I believe so. I am in a position that you love and care for, but not a position that you care for romantically?"

I smiled. "Simplistic, but correct."

"Why?"

"Why, what?"

"Why have you always been so nice to me? Skynet used Allison to create me. Skynet tortured Allison for information regarding John's location. Why don't you hate me like everyone else?"

I thought about that for a second. She raised a good question. Why didn't I hate her? Was it because I thought she could eventually replace Allison? No, that wasn't it. Was it because she seemed so lost and confused when she had been re-activated? Maybe that was it… I rubbed my ring finger and the wedding band still on it. I looked at Cameron. "First of all, not everyone hates you. John likes you. He's grown rather fond of you, actually. I like you. A lot of the Tech Com boys seem to like you. Not everyone hates you. As to why I don't hate you… I guess it's because I realized, when you came back on-line, that you weren't part of Skynet anymore. You hadn't actually killed Allison… Funny enough, after you said you had no record of Allison's death, I've been holding on to a sliver of hope that maybe, just maybe Allison was still alive." I paused, looking down at the ground.

Cameron reached over and lifted my chin up. "The odds of Allison surviving this long are twelve to one hundred thousandth. However, as you are so fond of telling me, Allison has always been one to beat the odds. Considering that she survived Judgment Day, there is a possibility that she has survived Skynet."

I looked at her. I understood what she was trying to do. Comfort me. Unfortunately, Cameron had yet to learn that by comforting someone, you fudge the odds, make them sound better. You don't tell someone the actual odds. But she was right. Allison had survived Judgment Day when she was still a toddler. Perhaps she had some luck the rest of us didn't, or maybe a guardian angel. I reached up and wiped a single tear from my face, nodding. "I hope she can make it, Cameron… I really do."

Cameron pulled me into a tight hug. At least she had learned that humans find comfort from physical touch, like a hug or a hand squeeze. She pulled back and looked at me. "We have to get to the scrubbing room."

I nodded and headed down the hall.

I opened up the door to the scrubbing room. John was overlooking a T-850 that was lying on the slab in the middle of the room. I half smiled. "You have to be here for every one that comes back on-line, don't you?"

John looked up at me and smiled. "Yeah. It lets me know…"

"If we actually programmed it right or if it's still going to try to rip your head off."

John chuckled. "Yeah, something like that."

I walked over and looked down at the T-850. It was pretty banged up, the artificial flesh was still torn up, and the endoskeleton underneath it was showing. "John, are we going to fix this thing up, or leave it as it is."

John looked over at the damage. "I think we'll leave it until we know it's going to work right."

I nodded. Makes sense. You didn't put all your time and effort into something if you don't know whether it will work or not. "What unit were you planning on putting it in?"

John stepped back from the slab. "I thought about putting it under you in the _Templars _if that's alright?"

I thought for a moment. In the last Skynet attempt to take Serrano, two of my T-800's were destroyed. I could use some more heavy back up. "Yeah, that's fine. I'll take him. I could use a couple more, though."

John nodded. "I've already sent three 800's to your unit. This will be the last."

"Alright." I agreed.

John sighed. I was looking the T-850 over carefully. Only the skin looked damaged, and I could live with that. It would help distinguish this one from the enemy. John looked at me. "You ready to bring it online?"

_I looked over the Allison look alike carefully. Skynet had done a very good job in recreating every little detail about Allison. My eyes watered. I wiped them on my jacket. John looked at me._

_ "You okay, David?"_

_ I nodded, still wiping my eyes clear. "I'm fine, John."_

_ "Because if you need to go collect yourself…"_

_ "__**No, John.**__" I said as forcefully as I could manage. "I'm fine. I want to be here when we bring her online."_

_ John grabbed my shoulder. "David. This isn't Allison…"_

_ "I know." I nodded my head. "I know."_

_ "You still want to stay?"_

_ I thought for a second. John was probably going to put this terminator in a different unit, somewhere far away from Serrano. For some reason, I didn't want that to happen. "John."_

_ "Yeah, David?"_

_ "Where are you going to put her?"_

_ "I thought about the front lines. Then again, she might make a good chopper pilot…"_

_ I cut him off. "I'll take her. Put her with the Templars. I'll take care of her."_

_ John looked shocked. "Why?"_

_ "Because she's different, John. She had emotions, I had… A feeling about her, John. I think she can be useful here at Serrano. She might even be able to replace your old body guard."_

_ John thought for a moment. I looked over at the programmer. "Add to her mission parameters that she must protect General Conner at all costs." Connor looked at me. I shrugged. "It might come in handy some day."_

_ The programmer typed for a couple of moments, then ejected the terminators chip from the chip terminal, and handed it to John. John looked at me then handed me the chip. "You bring it back, David."_

_ I grabbed the chip and nodded. I walked to the top of the slab, and picked up the terminators head. The skin was still cut open, so I pulled the flap back and opened the CPU port. I pressed the chip into the port until it clicked into place. I closed the CPU port, then walked over to the base of the slab and waited, folding my arms. A few moments later, the terminators eyes glowed blue, then faded. The terminator sat up. "Where am I?" It asked._

_ The sound of her voice almost brought me to tears. I swallowed hard. "You are…" I swallowed again. "You are in the Resistance base known as Serrano Point."_

_ She looked around the room, her eyes settling on John. "What are your mission parameters?" I asked._

_ She looked back at me, tilting her head to the right. 'Please don't do that…' I thought. "My mission is to fight for the Resistance, and to protect General Connor at all costs." She turned back to John. "You are General Connor?"_

_ Out of the corner of my eye, I saw John nod. "I am." He stated._

_ "Thank you. Some of my data files are still recompiling." I tensed and reached for my .44 instinctively. She looked at me. "My mission parameters have already loaded. I am of no threat to you or General Connor."_

_ I nodded and pulled my hand away from my holster. "What is your name?" I asked her._

_ "My original programming states that my name is Allison Young, however, I know this to be incorrect. Allison Young was human…"_

_ "Allison Marcus." I blurted out._

_ John looked over at me, concern on his face. The terminator looked at me; I thought I saw a look of realization on her face. "Allison Marcus…" She paused, looking at my left hand, noticing that I was rubbing my ring finger. "You are her husband."_

_ I nodded. "Yes, I am."_

_ She nodded. "I understand."_

_ I looked down at the floor. John came over to me. "You okay, David?"_

_ I nodded. "Yeah, just gimme a second." _

_ John nodded. I closed my eyes tightly, clenched my fists, took a deep breath, and then looked back at the terminator. "So, since your name is not Allison, what is it exactly?"_

_ The terminator looked at me. "My Skynet mode is TOK-715, my Skynet name is TK-427."_

_ I chuckled. I couldn't help it… "Well, that won't do, will it, General?"_

_ John shook his head. "No. No it won't."_

_ I looked at the terminator and thought for a second. I remembered Allison talking about the name she thought would be great for a daughter: Cameron. I smiled. "Your name… Is Cameron."_

_ John looked at me. He knew that was what Allison had wanted to name our daughter, if we ever got to have one. "David…" I waved my hand at him._

_ Cameron looked at me. "Cameron…" She repeated. "Thank you. Cameron is a beautiful name."_

_ I smiled. "Yes it is. Yes it is." _

"David?" I heard John ask.

I looked at him. "Yeah, John?"

"You alright?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I was just thinking." I looked up to see Cameron standing behind John, her hands wrapped around his right arm. He pulled back, and then set the chip on the slab. "You do it, David. He's going into the Templars, he's your 850."

I reached over the 850 a grabbed the chip, walked around behind its head, pulled open the cover for the CPU port, and plugged the chip in. I walked around to the base of the slab. A few moments later, the 850's eyes flashed red for a moment, and then dimmed. It sat up and looked at me, but said nothing. "Do you know where you are?"

The 850 looked around. Then, in a thick Austrian accent, it replied. "I am at Serrano Point."

"What are your mission parameters?" John asked.

The 850 looked back at me. "To fight for the Resistance and protect Lieutenant David Marcus at all costs."

I looked over at John. "What?" He asked. "You could use a body guard too, you know."

I chuckled, then looked back at the 850. "What is your name?"

"My Skynet model is T-850. My Skynet name is TK-1740."

I shook my head and laughed. _Each one's the same…, _I thought. I looked at the T-850 for a moment. What would be a good name for a body guard that protected a person that was in constant danger? "Well, TK-1740. You have a new name. Are you ready to overwrite your old one?"

After a moment, "Yes."

"Your name… is Sam."

After a moment, Sam looked at me. "My name is Sam."

I nodded. "Yep."

Sam nodded. "Thank You."

"You're welcome. Private," I motioned to a young private standing by the door. He came forward. "Take Sam here on a tour of the inner perimeter, and then take him to the armory. Get him suitable gear and some weapons, and then send him to my quarters. Alright?"

The private nodded. "Yes, sir. Please come with me, Sam."

Sam got up and followed the private out of the scrubbing room. I looked over at John. "Each one's the same."

John looked at me. "Sam? You named him Sam? After who, Samwise Gamgee?"

I laughed. "It was all I could think of. What would be a good name for a body guard that protects someone who is always in danger?"

John laughed. "Well, I guess you have a point there."

"General Connor?" A voice asked over John's walkie-talkie.

He pulled his walkie up to his face. "This is Connor, go ahead."

"Sir, we have readings on multiple Skynet units coming this way from the north. Looks like three carriers and two ground HK's."

John looked at me, then over at Cameron. "We need to get to the war room."


	2. The War Room

Chapter Two

The War Room.

The war room, on a good day, was a mad house. People were always running around, monitoring Skynet's unit movements, trying to coordinate attacks, setting up evacuations, preparing for supply transport.

But today, the war room was hell on earth. Almost 75 people filled the relatively small room that was filled with computers, radios, large monitors, radar equipment, weapons shelves and several circuit breakers. Papers were flying everywhere, everyone was shouting orders. Inexperienced privates were trying to relay information to their commanding officers, having to have what they were told repeated several times. Add to this the chaos that the klaxon sirens bring about.

I followed John and Cameron into the center of the war room, where there was a large circular table with monitors resting on and above it.

"I want to know what exactly is in each one of those transports, and I want to know where they're planning on landing!" John yelled out to another lieutenant.

"Yes, sir!" The lieutenant yelled back. John turned his attention to one of the larger hanging monitors. It showed a radar image of the three transports, as well as the location of the ground HK's.

"John, why now? Why would Skynet attack now? It knows we can fight off their 600's and 800's. Why keep sending them?" I asked.

John shook his head. "I don't know. Cameron?"

Cameron looked at John. "You have any ideas, Cam?" John asked her.

Cameron looked at the images again. "It is possible that Skynet has developed new units and it believes that we will be unable to fight against them. Perhaps it has created a task force capable of stretching us thin in our defense. It is also possible that they will attempt a new strategy, rather than an all out attack."

I looked at Cameron. "You mean Skynet could be learning how to fight strategically?"

"Yes."

"Great." I said, sarcasm flowing freely.

The lieutenant that John had ordered to find out what was on those transports came running up. "Sir! I got reports that the middle transport is just carrying a combination of 600's and 800's. This transport," he said pointing to the transport on the far left "is carrying nothing but T-1 units. It's estimated they have almost 50 units in there."

John leaned on the desk with both of his arms. "Geez, 50 T-1's."

"It gets worse, sir. This transport, the one on the far right, is carrying terminator units we have never seen before. All different designs. Similar to the 800's, a little more refined. We have some images..."

The lieutenant pulled out three images from his satchel bag. John picked them up and studied them. The young private from the scrubbing room came up to me. "Uh, sir?"

I turned and looked at him. "Yeah, private?"

"I did as you were told, taking Sam to the armory and all, but when the sirens started, I went looking for you. He's over by the south-east entrance."

"South-east? Why didn't you bring him in?"

"Well, sir, the two guards wouldn't let me. Said something about you needed to stop trusting metals…"

I turned on my heel and briskly moved toward the south-east entrance. I reached the door, twisted the handle, and shoved the door open. The two guards stood up and saluted. I recognized them as the same two guards that harassed me when I tried to bring Cameron in the first time. "You two, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern. What's the deal now?"

The first guard, the one that held Cameron back a few months ago, looked at me. "What's the deal? The deal is it's a metal, that's what it is. It's not supposed to be in there. The only reason we let Cameron in is because Connor ordered us to. Kind of disgusting the way a metal and the General…"

"Enough!" I cut him off. "As commanding officer of the _Knights Templars, _I am relieving you two of your duty here. Go back to your units and prepare for battle." I pulled my radio off of my belt. "Jack!"

A moment. "Yeah, Dave?" Jack Higgins, a corporal, was my right hand man. He knew some of the men better than I did, but he couldn't take commanding the whole unit.

"Find me two volunteers from the _Templars _to stand guard on the south-east entrance of the war room. Now." I looked up to see the two guards still standing there. "Why are you two still here?"

"We can't leave until our replacements arrive."

I looked at him. "Fine. Me and Sam here are your replacements. You are relieved, soldier."

The second guard sighed, pulling on the first guards' soldier. They both stalked down the hall. Sam looked at me. "Why did you relieve them?"

"Because they wouldn't allow you to come into the war room."

"Why?"

"Because they think you're a threat."

"Why?"

I looked at Sam. _And to think that Skynet can take over the world with cyborgs that have the mentality of a three year old. _"Because you are a Terminator."

"Thank you for explaining."

I sighed, then chuckled. Sam looked at me. "What is funny?"

"You said the same thing Cameron says when a person explains something she doesn't understand."

Sam nodded his head slowly. "If people are afraid of terminators, why do you defend us?"

I sighed. "Because you have been reprogrammed. You're not a threat anymore. You're going to help us, not harm us."

Sam said nothing. I can hear the sound of feet hitting the concrete at a jog getting closer. I look to my left. James McCoy and Mark Williams come running up to us. _Jack couldn't have sent me two better guys for the job. _James and Mark were brave, and they could shoot the head off an 800 model faster than anyone else. That was, of course, if they weren't in a battlefield. Neither of them could move around a battlefield without tripping on something…

_Great, just great. First day out, and what do I get to fight. Skynet's new toy, the T-888. There were about seventy left, and they were advancing on Serrano. I looked behind me. Checkpoint Charlie was taken. They could not reach Checkpoint Bravo. That was the beginning of the civilian tunnels. If they managed to get there…_

_"Hey you!" Someone cried._

_I looked around. The voice sounded female. I turned and saw a girl that helped carry ammo to the troops…Allison… Young? She was trying to help a soldier out from underneath a destroyed T-1. I ran over to them._

_"We have to get him out from under this thing!" She cried._

_I took the situation in. The guys' legs were crushed underneath the treads of the T-1. His legs were toast. I looked at the guys face. It was pale white. He was losing too much blood. There was nothing that could be done for him. "Allison, we can't help him."_

_"We have to try!" She yelled at me._

_"Allison, he's already lost too much blood. His legs are a total loss. He's barely conscious…" A plasma blast slammed into the side of the T-1. I fell onto the ground, turned around, and fired at the triple eight that was visible. I bagged him after three shots. I looked back at Allison. "And if you want to leave here alive, we have to go, now!"_

_Allison looked back at the guy and then looked behind me. Seeing the triple eights coming, she looked down at the guy and handed him a pistol. "I'm so sorry."_

_I grabbed her by the arm and drug her up. She slowly stumbled to her feet, the followed me as I ran back for Checkpoint Bravo. I went past a wrecked car, then turned left and saw the barrier wall. I waited for Allison to pass me, then started running again. The triple eights were faster than the other models. They were gaining on us. They started firing at us. Plasma blasts would scorch rubble next to either me or Allison. Allison would scream at each blast that landed near her. I turned slightly to the left to try to keep the triple eights from getting a straight shot to Allison, and tripped on a piece of rebar. My right ankle flared in pain. I felt it break. I landed square on my back, landing on another piece of rebar. A flash of pain told me that it had punctured the skin. I cried out in pain. Allison turned around and ran back for me. She helped me to my feet and half dragged me over to behind a burned out car. _

"_What's hurt?" She asked._

"_My ankle… I think it's broken. And another damned piece of rebar stabbed me in the back, ow." I winced as I leaned on the wound._

_Allison propped me up and looked at my back. "You don't look like you're losing too much blood. It probably hurts more than it did damage."_

_The car was blasted with plasma fire. Allison ducked down lower and covered her head. I pulled myself up and over the side of the car and started shooting at the triple eights. I managed to down four or five before a plasma shot landed in my right shoulder. I flew back away from the car, screaming and writhing in pain. Allison came up and dragged me back closer to the car. "Shhh, shhh. It'll be okay. Let me take a look."_

_Even with the car getting blasted by triple eights, Allison was still together enough to check my new wound. 'She is one tough cookie. If we make it out of here, I think I might try to get to know her better, see if I can start something' More blasts pelt the car. 'If we make it out of here.'_

_I can hear the sound of a chopper approaching. I look up to see a Blackhawk, with what looks like a Gatling gun sticking out of the side, start spraying the oncoming terminators. The plasma blasts become fewer and fewer, and after a couple more seconds, they stopped altogether. The Blackhawk moves on, and soldiers start coming towards us. General Connor is with them. He walks up to us. Allison jumps up and hugs him. He hugs her back, then looks down at me. "You look like hell, Marcus."_

_I tried to laugh, but it hurt too much. "I'm just happy to be alive, sir." _

_General Connor waved for two medics to come and take me to the infirmary. He crouched in front of me. "You saved Allison's life, you know that?"_

_I looked up at the General. "I guess so, sir."_

_I looked over at Allison who was being tended to by a medic. She looked over at me, worry all over her face. She looked at the medic and waved her hand, refusing any more treatment. She walked over to where I was laying. "Uhm, David, right?"_

_I nodded. "Yeah, that's me."_

_She leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. "Thank you."_

_I smiled. "Don't mention it."_

"_Just do me a favor."_

"_Sure, Allison, anything."_

"_Learn to navigate a battlefield without killing yourself." Allison got up and walked away. Two medics came over and hooked me up to an I-V. Connor looked down at me._

"_I think she likes you, kid."_

_I wasn't sure about Allison, but I was definitely sure about myself. I was hooked, 100%. "I hope so, sir…"_

"Sir? What are we here for?" I heard James ask.

"What?" I said.

"He requested to know what his orders are." Sam stated.

"Oh, right. You guys are now guarding this entrance. Clear?"

They both looked excited. They'd better; this was a premier assignment, guarding General Connors war room. "Yes, SIR!" They both said.

"Alright, boys. We'll leave you to it." I motioned for Sam to follow me. "Come on, we might need your help."

I walked back into the war room with Sam close behind. We approached the desk the General Connor was now at, looking at images of new terminators that Skynet had sent on one of the transports. "I've never seen anything like that. It's so… I hate to say it, but it's so beautiful." Connor said.

I looked at the picture he was looking at. It was a slender endoskeleton, definitely lethal. It had a more rounded and human looking head than what Skynet typically used, with bright blue optical sensors, and a blue glow coming from what would be its mouth. John was right. It was a beautiful design.

"That is a T-X model terminator." Sam stated.

John looked at Sam. "What's a T-X?"

"A new terminator design. It is incredibly more powerful than any 800 series terminator, more heavily armed. It secretes a mimetic poly alloy metal from compartments in its cranium that allow it to look human, but also provides more armor. It has onboard plasma weapons, grenade launchers, and flamethrowers. Your smaller weapons will not be able to stop it. Only plasma weapons and high power grenade and rocket launchers will destroy it, and maybe not even then." Sam paused, looking at another monitor that showed a whole different terminator. It looked almost like a human with no skin, and made of coltan and steel. It had the same red eye glow of an 800 series, but it just looked a lot deadlier. "That is a T-900 unit. It is almost as strong as the T-X, however, it is not as heavily armored. A plasma rifle should be sufficient to take them down." He looked at another monitor. It had a model similar to the 900, but it was slimmer, and had a green glow to it. "That is a T-950 series. That model is supposed to be used for infiltration only. It is not as strong as the T-900, maybe has the strength of an 800 series. It does have strong armor, so you must use plasma rifles. This may suggest that Skynet is desperate to attack."

A few colorful medifores could be heard from a lot of the soldiers standing nearby. Johns face fell for a moment. These new terminators could do some serious damage if they made it to the battlefield. There were only two divisions that could fight off these new terminators; the _Knights Templars_ and the_ Crusaders._ And the _Templars _were Serrano Point's primary defense force. '_Looks like I'm going to be doing the tango with terminators today._'

Cameron looked at the screen, then at possible landing sites. "They will land here." She said, pointing at a flat piece of land between Checkpoint Delta and Checkpoint Charlie. "It is large enough for them to land two transports, and it gets them past the outer defenses."

"But the outer defenses will be firing on them the whole time; the transports will never hit the ground." One soldier said.

"No." Sam started. "They will use the ground HK's to eliminate the outer defenses. They will also use aerial HK's as well." Sam looked at Cameron. "I would suggest trying to shoot down the transports before they land."

Cameron thought for a second. "It would be dangerous for the fighter pilots, but it is the best form of attack." She looked at John. "What do you think?"

John looked at the monitor. I looked too. Everything Cam and Sam (huh, that rhymes,) said made sense. That spot was the only place they could land a transport, and if we took out the transports, the ground boys wouldn't have to worry about their cargo, just the oncoming ground HK's. John nodded his head. "Alright, let's do it."

I looked at John. "The _Templars _have those old F-14's, John. They can track a target up to a hundred miles away. We could take out those transports as soon as the fighters leave the ground."

John nodded in agreement. "Good thinking, David. Make it happen."

One of the advantages to being the commander of the _Knights Templars_ was, we were one of the few units that combined air and ground units. I pulled a phone up from the desk. "Get me Miramar."

After a few moments, Don Jackson, commanding officer at Miramar, answered the phone. "This is Jackson, go ahead."

"Captain, this is Lieutenant David Marcus of the _Knights Templars._ I need you to scramble four of my F-14's, as well as all my A-10's. Clear?"

After a moment. "Clear, sir. Scrambling them now." I could hear sirens wailing over the connection. "Pilots are getting into their planes. ETA to take off, two minutes, ETA to Serrano, seven minutes."

"Thank you, Captain. Tell squadron leader to set frequency to one-one-two, zero niner."

"Copy that. Jackson out."

I walked over at sat down at a radio set, picked up a headset, and set the radio to the proper frequency. Cameron walked over to me. "Nineteen fighter planes is a large force, David. Are you sure that you need that many?"

I looked up at Cameron. "I'm trying to prevent our ground boys from having to fight terminators that they have never seen before, Cam. If we can take those transports out, that'll make our lives a heck'uv a lot easier."

Cameron nodded. My radio squawked. "Control, this is _Templar _squadron leader. Requesting orders."

"_Templar _leader, this is Lieutenant David Marcus. Your orders are to eliminate the three aerial transports located 25 miles north a Serrano. Also, destroy any additional air targets you may encounter. Once you have air supremacy, you are to target any and all ground units. Understood?"

"Affirmative sir."

"Very good, commander. Switch to Victory for airborne control."

A corporal on the other side of the room responded. "This is Victory, I have control."

I nodded at the corporal, then went back over to where General Connor was. "Alright, I've got nineteen fighters in the air; I don't think anything will get through, but I'm still going down to ready the _Templars._ If anything makes it through…"

"I'll notify you immediately." John said.

I nodded, then looked at Sam. "Come on, Sam. Looks like your brothers are misbehaving."

I heard John chuckle before I turned and headed for the south-east exit. I was almost there when Cameron called me. "David!"

I turned and looked at her. She walked quickly up to me, then pulled me into a tight hug. I wrapped my arms around her and patted her back. "Hey now, what's this?"

She looked me in the eyes. "I am concerned for you. I will not be going with you."

'_Wow, she's growing faster than I thought she would.'_ I thought. Cameron had been with me on every mission until John requested that Cameron be with him. This was going to be the first mission where she wasn't with me. '_That is so… human. So kind.' _"Look, Cam. I've got Sam with me. He's going to take care of me. And I'll have all the _Templars _with me. I'll be okay, and I'll be back."

"It is not the same. I will not be with you. I cannot be sure of your safety." She said. I thought I saw her eyes watering.

I gently grabbed her shoulders. I could see John looking over at her. His face looked like he was afraid she would come with me. In just a few weeks, Cameron and John had gotten very close. Almost as if they were a couple. "Look, Cam. I know you're worried, and believe me, I appreciate it. But I have Sam with me. And John needs you here." I motioned with my head for her to look at John. She turned her head and looked. I continued, playing on the love card. If she had advanced enough to understand that card. "You know that John likes you a lot, right?"

She looked back at me. "Does he like me romantically?"

I smiled. "Yes, I believe he does. He also depends on you to be there when he needs someone to lean on. Please, Cam. Stay with John. Be with him." I pulled her into a tight hug again, the kissed her cheek. I looked at her seriously. "I'll be back. I give you my word."

And to Cameron, if there was anyone who's word counted as much as John Connors, it was mine. She returned the kiss, then walked back toward John, who looked relieved to see that the girl he was falling for was staying with him. She turned around half way there and looked at me. "Good luck, David."

"Thanks, Cam." I turned and headed out the door, Sam close behind me.

**So, there it is, Chapter Two. I hope it was good, I think it is. But then again, I'm biased. Hope I'm doing a good job in providing enough background for people to follow and understand David. So, review away and tell me what you think! By the way, it could take a while for chapters to come up, so please, again, have patience if by some miracle somebody gets hooked on my story. And sorry for any language. But if there's a time and a place. It will probably never get any worse then what you saw here in this chapter. That's it. Review please! (And yes, Sam is a T-850 with sheathing 101. I should try to put that somewhere. )**


	3. Prepare for Battle

Chapter Three

Prepare For Battle/In Too Deep

The _Knights Templars _had their own little "base" just outside of Serrano Point, inside the Checkpoint Alpha region. It used to be an old warehouse that was used by a shipping company. It was large enough to house the entire _Knights Templar _division, which was usually four hundred and fifty strong. And that was just on the ground. And tonight, all four hundred and fifty ground soldiers were here. I walked up onto the platform at the front of the warehouse. All of our computer equipment was here, as well as screens for projectors hanging from the ceiling. I looked over at Jack. "Do we have the intel from Serrano?"

Jack looked down at a computer monitor. "Just about. I need another 30 seconds."

I nodded, then looked out over the warehouse floor. The _Templars _were probably one of the larger units in Serrano. Most CO's preferred fighting with smaller units in coordination with other units. That was all well and good, until one unit got pinned down, and another unit came to their rescue, and then they got pinned, and the _Templars _get the call to rescue them. That had happened several times. And as of yet, the _Templars _had yet to fall back from the enemy. I was hoping that tonight would be no different.

"Sir, we have the intel. Should we run it now?" Jack asked.

I turned back around. "Yeah, we should. Hand me the mic."

Jack handed me the microphone to the P.A. system in the warehouse. I pressed the button down. "Good evening, gentlemen. A few hours ago, we received word that Skynet was sending three aerial transports and two ground hunter killers toward Serrano Point." I stopped there, waiting for all the soldiers to look up at the projection screen. "About 30 minutes ago, we were able to collect details on what exactly is inside those transports." I reached down and pressed the space bar on a keyboard. The image of the three transports side by side appeared. I pointed to the far right transport. "This transport is carry approximately fifty T-1 units." A few gasps and colorful medifores came from the soldiers. I pointed toward the center transport. "This transport contains 600 and 800 series terminators. Nothing too special. However," I pointed to the far left transport. "This transport is carrying units we have never fought against." I pressed the space bar again, bringing up a split image of the T-900 and 950. I pointed at the 900. "This is a T-900 series terminator. It is stronger than an 800 series terminator, and has heavier armor. However, it can still be destroyed or disabled by plasma weapons. It is also susceptible to head shots like the 600 and 800 series. Aim for the head, and you'll be able to take them down." I looked over at Sam for confirmation of what I said. He nodded slowly. I sighed, then pointed at the 950 series. "This is a T-950 series. It has the same strength as an 800 series, and heavier armor than an 800 series. However, its armor is weaker than the 900's, and is more susceptible to damage. Again, aim for the head, and you should be alright."

I pressed the space bar one more time. The T-X appeared on screen. Several of the men gasped, other cussed. "This is a new model called the T-X. I am going to let Sam tell you more about it." I motioned for Sam to come over to the mic. He walked over and took the mic from my hand, then looked at me.

"What am I supposed to say?"

"Just tell them what the T-X can do, how heavy the armor is, and what weapons they will need to use to take one down."

Sam nodded, then pressed the mic button. "The T-X series terminator is an incredibly powerful design. It has almost three times the strength of a T-888 series terminator. It can secrete a mimetic polly alloy from compartments in its head that can not only act as a skin, but also add to the armor of the T-X. A T-X, with the polly alloy covering, is virtually indestructible by plasma weapons unless it suffers a direct hit to the chip through the left eye socket. The skull is too heavily armored for plasma fire to breach it. If it uses its polly alloy, then only an RPG or similar weapon can take one out. The T-X also has a very large on-board weapons arsenal. This includes a powerful plasma cannon, flamethrower, and a .223 stopper. In essence, it is a virtually unstoppable machine."

The soldiers simply stared at the picture. I look over at Sam and nod. He hands me the mic back. "The total number of units we are looking to face is three hundred. I scrambled 19 fighters to try and intercept the transports, and the ground based hunter killers. I have not received any word on how they are doing."

One of the younger soldiers close to the platform looks up at me. "How the hell are we supposed to fight those damned things? He just said that they're unstoppable!"

A few murmurs of agreement came from the crowd. It was understandable. I basically just looked at them and said, "Hey! Here are these new terminators. We can't use anything less than plasma rifle to fight them, and for a large number of them, even a plasma rifle is useless. So let's go out there and get ourselves killed!" My face fell. I felt foolish. Jack looked at me. "David, not questioning your command abilities, but, are you ready for this?"

_"Hey, I'm not questioning your decision, David. I just want to know if you're ready for this. She is kind of like my daughter." John said._

_I looked at him and too k a deep breath to settle my nerves. "Yeah, John. I'm ready for this. Why? Is Allison not sure?" I couldn't help the worry in my voice._

_John laughed. "No David, there's nothing else in this whole world she wants more than to do this with you right now. She just mentioned you were a little on edge last night."_

_I nodded. "It's a big deal, you know? Getting married. Not many people get married any more, they just kinda, well, you know…"_

_John nodded. "Yeah, I know."_

_"So, yeah I'm a little nervous. How is Allison, anyway?"_

_John chuckled. "Nervous, just like you. But excited. Like I said, there's nothing else she wants more than to marry you, David."_

_I nodded. "Then , when you go get her, could you let her know the feeling's mutual?"_

_John smiled. "I'll do that, David." He pointed to the far end of the mess hall where the ceremony would take place. "Now, go on and wait with Ellison, I'll have her out soon."_

_I nodded, then walked over to where James Ellison was standing. Only a few people were in the mess hall. Some of Allison's closest friends, some of my friends. John would be there. He was walking Allison down the "aisle." James Ellison, the most religious man in Serrano Point, was going to be performing the ceremony. I walked over and stood in front of James. $_

"_How are you doing, David?" He asked quietly._

"_I'm… Nervous, James. But I'm excited, too."_

_He nodded with a smile on his face."It's good to be nervous. It means you really want to do this. If you weren't nervous, I'd be worried." He paused, then grabbed my shoulders gently and moved me so that I was standing in front of him to his left. "You should turn around, David. Allison won't like it if you're looking at the wall."_

_I nodded sheepishly, then turned around. I heard John's voice over James's earpiece. "I'm bringing her out now, James. David ready?"_

"_About as ready as he can possibly be." James said. I could practically hear his smile."Go ahead and bring her out, John."_

_I looked at the doorway. Two reprogrammed 800's came through the door, taking posts on either side. They were dressed in full Resistance uniform, which consisted of olive drab cargo pants, black combat boots, a shirt that was either green of khaki, and a green combat jacket. They carried what looked like two AR-15's, distinctive blue tape around the bottom of the clips. Then John and Allison appeared._

_She was wearing white (or as close as the Resistance could come to) pants, an old white oxford shirt, and khaki combat boots. She was, as far as I was concerned, (and I would kill any man that said differently) the most beautiful girl in the world. I must have stopped breathing because Ellison tapped me on the shoulder and leaned into my left ear. "A lesson in life David, for here and any other time you're nervous or afraid, just hang on tight and pray. Someone will answer."_

"_Someone?" I asked._

"_I don't know what you believe as far as God. Hence, I said somebody."_

"_James, I believe in God."_

"_Oh?"_

"_Yeah, oh. If there wasn't a God, I would either be dead, or living and alone. I'm not dead, and I'm not alone. Good enough proof for me that there's a God."_

_James chuckled. "Good enough for me, too."_

_John and Allison were much closer now, about 15 steps away. I closed my eyes. "Just hang on tight and pray…"_

"_Just hang on tight and pray…" I said out loud. I looked at the back wall, just under the projection screen. Allison's painting of the lion eating a terminator's skull looked back at me. I looked at the floor. I was scared, too. Had I lost my edge? Was I losing my grip?_

"_Hang in there, baby." I could hear Allison in my head, breaking through everything else… _

"_Allison?" I asked._

"_I'm here, David."_

_I felt a tear roll down my cheek. "I miss you so much…" I started breaking down._

"_Hey! Don't you break now, David. You can't break. I need you to remain strong."_

"_I can't anymore. Not for myself, not for John, not Cameron… Not anyone…"_

"_Not even me?" Allison asked._

_I could feel some strength coming back. "Only for you… But I don't know for how long…"_

_I saw her face. Her beautiful brown eyes looking at me, full of understanding. "I know, David. You're worn. It won't be long. I'm coming back soon… Just hang in there, baby."_

"_What do you mean you're coming back soon? Allison?"_

_Her face was gone, her voice was a faint whisper as she spoke last. "Hang in there, baby!"_

"David? David!? You alright?" Jack was asking me.

I looked up at Jack. "Wha... What?"

"Are you alright, David? You like, disappeared. You still with us?"

I looked around. The warehouse was in disarray. The men thought this mission was suicide, Jack and my command staff was looking at me, waiting for me to do something. Sam's head was tilted towards one side as he tried to understand what was wrong with me. But there was nothing wrong with me. Allison had done it to me again. She picked me up off the ground and rallied me again. I looked back at Jack. "I'm fine, Jack. Just lost in thought."

"Sir?" A young soldier called out from next to the platform. "Are we gonna do something? We can't just let Skynet walk into Serrano."

I smiled. "No. No we can't. And we won't." I pulled the P.A. mic to my mouth. "Alright boys, quiet down." The soldiers quieted a little, but not much. The young soldier that asked if we were going to fight jumped up onto the platform.

"EVERYONE SHUT UP!" He screamed. All the soldiers stopped and looked at him. "The Lieutenant is trying to speak!" He looked over at me, embarrassed. "It's all yours, sir." He went to get back down. I grabbed his shoulder.

"No, way, soldier. You're staying with me. Please."

The soldier looked at me scared for a moment, then realized I wasn't angry at him, and he back-stepped towards the back of the platform. I raised the mic again. "Alright, gentlemen. I have a question to ask. Are you afraid?"

"Hell yes!" Several of the soldiers called out. The rest seemed to agree.

I nodded, then licked my lips to continue. "General George S. Patton Jr. once said that fear is courage holding on a minute longer. He was leading men in a desperate battle to free Europe from the tyranny of a man called Adolf Hitler. Hitler had the better equipment, the better trained men, and he controlled most of Europe. The men of Patton's army were afraid too. Why? For many of the same reasons that you are. The Germans were always testing some new weapon, something else to give them an edge in battle. And like the Germans in World War two, Skynet has sent equipment to fight us. New machines. Machines we have never seen before. Machines we have never fought. And Skynet has sent a lot of them. But these machines cannot win the battle alone. Skynet is counting on something else. Our fear. Our fear that we cannot stop these new machines. Our fear that they will get into this base, and kill our loved ones, our friends, our family. But Skynet has forgotten something." I paused. "Skynet has forgotten one key piece of information. All throughout human history, men that were fighting for something, fought the hardest. Back in the times of ancient Greece, the 300 Spartans fought of tens of thousands of Babylonian soldiers. Why? Because they knew if they did not, then the world as they knew it would be changed. The men of the American Revolution fought the British soldiers, even though they were outnumbered and poorly equipped. Why? Because they believed that if they did not, then they would never have control of their own lives. The fighter pilots of England in World War two rose to the sky daily to face the never ending swarms of German fighters and bombers. Why? Because they were fighting to keep England free. Gentlemen, today we are no different than those 300 Spartans. We are no different than the men of the American Revolution. We are no different than the pilots of England. We are fighting Skynet because we believe that we have a right to survive. We are fighting for loved ones. We are fighting because we have a right to live! "

A few of the men cheered. I continued. "Tonight, let us send a clear message to Skynet. Let our message be heard by all that can hear it. Let us tell Skynet that no matter how many, machines, they send our way, WE WILL NOT GO QUIETLY INTO THE NIGHT! WE WILL NOT VANISH WITHOUT A FIGHT! We WILL live on, we WILL survive. Tonight, we give Skynet hell!"

I was sure that every _Templar _in the building was on their feet. The mood had changed drastically. What once was a group of men that were afraid to fight, wanted now to go and fight like they had never fought before. I looked over at Jack. Whatever doubt had been in his eyes was gone. Sam looked like… Sam. And the young man behind me was no longer timid about battle, was now anxious to get into a transport truck.

Jack looked at me. "Sorry I questioned you, David."

I shook my head. "No, it's fine. I understand." I turned and looked at the young soldier. "What's your name, soldier?"

"Jackson. Jonathan Jackson."

"What's your rank?"

"Private, sir."

"Alright then, private. I'm promoting you to corporal."

Jackson looked shocked. "But I didn't do anything, sir."

I shook my head. "You helped me get my head back into gear. You helped me push aside my own fear. That takes courage, kid. Courageous people should be rewarded, I think. Don't you agree, Jack?"

Jack nodded. The kid looked at me. "Uh. Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."\

"Don't mention it. Now, Corporal Jackson, get these men ready. I'm about to get the Generals orders."

Jackson saluted, then jumped back on the floor and started getting soldiers ready. I walked over to where the phone was sitting and picked up the handset. "Get me the war room."

A moment later, Cameron answered. "Captain Marcus."

"Cam, it's David. How's the situation?"

A moment later, John came on the phone. "David, it's John. The situation could be worse, I guess. Your fighters managed to take down the transport with the T-1's, but Skynet sent HK's to defend the transports. But I don't think both transports will make it. The one carrying the 600's and 800's took a couple of bad hits. They're both about seven miles outside of Checkpoint Delta. One thing I can tell you for sure is that those ground HK's are still going; the fighters haven't been able to get a clean shot…"

"Alright, John. Does this mean the word is given?"

A pause. "Yes, the word is given. Good luck and Godspeed, David."

"Thanks John." I went to hang up the phone when I heard Cameron call my name through the phone.

"David!"

I raised the phone back to my ear. "Cam? What do you need?"

She paused. I thought I heard her swallow hard. "Please exercise caution. I… I don't want to lose you." Her voice was full of genuine concern.

I smiled. '_She's concerned for me… She really is going beyond her programming.' _I felt my eyes water. "Cameron, I'm going to be alright. I have Sam with me; he's going to look after me. But I need you to remember what I told you about John. About him needing someone to lean on and care for him. I need you to care for him like you have cared for me. Can you do that for me?"

After a moment. "Yes."

"Good. I will be back, Cameron. I give you my word."

"Thank you, David."

"Cam?"

"Yes?"

I paused before continuing. "Remember when I mentioned that I thought of you as a daughter?"

"Yes."

"I forgot one thing, Cam. I love you."

One second. Two seconds. Three… "Like a daughter?"

I smiled, laughing lightly. "Yes, like a daughter."

Another long pause. "Then I love you like a father."

A single tear made it down my face. "Alright Cam. I have to go. Remember what I said about John. Bye." I hung up the phone.

Sam and Jack looked at me. "So. What are we doing?" Jack asked.

"We're going out. Now." I reached over for the P.A. mic. "Alright gentlemen, the word has been given. Saddle up, we leave right now. Get to your trucks."

**Three minutes later between Checkpoint Bravo and Checkpoint Charlie.**

"David." Jack said, looking over at me from the driver's seat of the old troop truck. "Where'd you come up with a speech like that?"

I laughed. I couldn't help it. "When I was still in the mid-west, fighting out of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, several of the civilians had fixed up an old drive in theatre, and they played whatever movies they could find. They found this one movie from the 1990's, it was called "Independence Day." It was about these aliens that came down and tried to annihilate the human race. The President of the United States had this air base; it was supposed to be Area 51 or something. He had a few pilots and planes, and he led them into this massive battle against the aliens. But before they took to the skies, the President gave this speech, pretty close to what I gave. You know that part I said about not vanishing into the night, not giving up without a fight?"

"Yeah."

"That was from that movie."

"You're joking, right?"

"Nope. I thought it fit, that's why I put it in there."

Jack chuckled. "Well, if the shoe fits…"

I chuckled. "Yeah. If the shoe fits. Let's just hope I 'm not bringing these boys out here on a fools hope…"

**Five minutes later, between Checkpoint Charlie and Checkpoint Delta. **

I jumped out of the passenger side of the truck, shouting orders to everyone that could hear me. "I want 30 guys to go over behind that old perimeter wall. I want another 30 guys to go over behind that wrecked tank. Jackson!"

Corporal Jackson turned and looked at me. "Sir?"

"Grab that radio unit sitting next to you and come with me!"

"Yes, sir."

I walked over to where a concrete highway divider was sitting. This would be my position. I looked up at the sky. You could hear the planes and transports coming. Every now and then, you would see the light from a fighter as the pilot kicked in the afterburner. Jackson came over with the radio set. I pulled out the handset. "Get me Serrano."

"This is Connor." John said on the other end.

"John, it's David. We're at the anticipated LZ. What's the status?"

"The transport carrying the 600's and 800's is down, one mile outside of Checkpoint Delta. A few units survived the crash, but the outer defenses will take care of them. The third transport is still coming. It's estimated that there's a hundred units inside. Plus, the two ground HK's are still coming. ETA to the outer perimeter is 5 minutes."

"How many fighters are still fighting?"

"Three. There are 11 left of the original 19, but they had to return for ammo. I'm sending Apaches to assist you, see if they can't take out those damned ground HK's."

"How many aerial HK's are left?"

"Two."

I took in all the information. We could only be facing a hundred or so units. Granted, they were a hundred of Skynets new toys, but still. We would have strength in numbers. "How long until that transport gets here?" I asked. But I heard my answer. The transport hovered precisely where Cameron and Sam had estimated. It started to descend slowly; the aerial HK's trying to provide cover from the three _Templar _fighters. "Hey John! Transport's here. Gotta go." I reached over and switched the channel to talk to the men on the field. They were all equipped with earpieces, and a few had microphones. His helped pull them back if we had to retreat. "Alright boys, here they come. Remember, aim for the head's. Anyone with an RPG is to target T-X's only."

A few affirmatives confirmed my orders had been received. The transport was about 700 feet off the ground when a damaged A-10 screamed into its side. The transport held for a moment, then started falling towards the ground. A few men scrambled back for cover as the transport crashed heavily into the ground. "Stay back! Stay back! Do not approach the transport!" I yelled over the radio. We waited a couple of minutes. The transport sat in flames. Nothing was happening. Suddenly, the back exit of the transport blew off and terminators stated charging out. "Fire!" I yelled.

The _Templars _started firing, plasma rounds flying everywhere. The first few terminators took the bulk of the hits, but they were only being slowed. They didn't stop. I looked over to my left. A soldier with a Javelin anti-tank missile was sitting behind the same concrete divider that me, Sam, Jack and Jonathan were behind. I waved to get his attention. He looked at me. "Better fire that damned thing now, son!"

The soldier nodded, brought the Javelin up to firing position, sat for a moment, and then fired. The missile went straight for a large cluster of terminators before exploding. Terminator parts flew in all different directions. "Boo-YAH!" the soldier yelled. A plasma shot flew through the air and hit him in the throat. He fell back, dead.

"SHIT!" Jack yelled. "The T-X's are out."

I looked back at the transport. The 900's and the 950's were defending the T-X's by taking all the fire, and returning it tenfold. About thirty T-Xs emerged from the transport, firing off all different weapons. The _Templars _returned fire as best as they could, sending more missiles towards the machines. 900's an 950's blew apart easily, but the T-X's were managing to avoid taking large amounts of damage. The thunder of jet engines suddenly got louder as more _Templar _and Resistance fighters shot forward. More aerial HK's appeared, attempting to fire at the ground units. The Apaches John promised flew overhead, trying to reach the ground HK's that were quickly becoming visible. I reached for the radio again, switching it back to talk to John. "John! You there?"

"Yeah, David!"

"I need heavy fire support! Can you send out some tanks?"

A moment. "Yeah, I'm sending about 15 M1A1's, think that'll be enough?"

I looked out at the battlefield. It was a stalemate, with signs of Skynet quickly gaining the upper hand. More tanks would help, but John didn't have that many to spare. "It'll have to do, John! Send them out now!"

Sam fired his plasma rifle right past my ear, bagging a 900 right in the left eye socket, causing the machine to fall. A large explosion got my attention. We were now within range of the ground HK's, and they were firing on my men's positions. Where thirty guys had once been, there was now just a smoking hole.

The sky was torn apart by the explosions of fighters and HK's going at it, the ground was an absolute mess, and Skynet had lost fewer than 20 ground units, and they were advancing on _Templar _positions with nerve wracking speed and precision. I pulled my rifle up to my shoulder and took a shot at a 950, knocking its left leg out from underneath it. Sam stood up and finished it off with a shot to the head. Another large explosion and another group of guys were gone. _Templar _numbers were starting to dwindle, and Skynet was advancing. Loud cannon fire from behind us let me know that the M1A1's John had sent were within range.

Jack looked over at me, fear very evident in his eyes. Another large explosion about 30 feet in front of us caused us to duck behind the concrete divider. Jack looked at me. "I think we're in this one too deep, David. We should fall back and regroup. Get more men and more RPG's."

I looked over at Sam. He nodded. "Skynet has the upper hand here. Falling back to Checkpoint Charlie to regroup and get more men would be the best strategic move. Checkpoint Charlie would also provide more cover for the men."

I nodded. "Alright, let's order the retreat." I went to reach over for the radio handset from Jackson when I saw the exhaust of a missile as it sped for our exact location….

**And stop! **

**Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter finished. It took me forever to get it to where I like it. I still don't think it's that good, but that's because there's not much going on here as far as David and Allison and John and Cameron. There will be more in the next chapter, however. Unfortunately, it will probably be just as long. **

**So, read and review. Tell me what you think.**


	4. Whirlwind

**Chapter Four**

**Whirlwind.**

I could actually see the missile as it raced towards us. My eyes widened. "Aw, shit!"

Sam grabbed my shoulder, heaved me off the ground, and pushed me back towards the trucks. "Run!"

Jonathan and Jack scrambled up after us as we raced back to find some kind of cover. The scream of the missile got louder as it closed in. Apparently, it was following heat signatures. I kept running until I fell into a trench, then I heard the explosion…

_I just kept running until I heard the explosion. The machines had entered Serrano! I ran back to where I knew Allison was last. I found her, huddled in a corner, scared out of her mind. I ran over to her. "Alli! Come on!" I reached down and grabbed her by the arm and yanked her off the ground, pushing her toward the far exit of the mess hall. She ran in front of me, screaming as chunks of the ceiling fell on her at times. We entered a tunnel that lead to the outside, where we would make a break for the Templars warehouse, which had its own underground tunnels and rooms, separate from the rest of the base. Allison rounded a corner and screamed. Two T-800's were blocking the path. I came up behind her._

_ "Hey ,it's okay, Alli. They're ours. It's alright." I pulled her into a quick hug. I looked down the tunnel. I could see the door that lead to the outside. I looked at one of the machines. "Will you cover us if any enemy machines get this far?"_

_ A mechanical voice responded. "Yes."_

_ "Good." Then the tunnel collapsed. I pulled Allison down to the ground, using my body to shield hers. Concrete, rebar, and other crap fell on top of us. I felt a piece of rebar stab me in the back. I cried out in pain. As soon as the debris stopped falling, I tried to move but I couldn't. Allison was crying, she could see the rebar sticking through my chest, just under my rib cage. It hurt like hell. One of the machines was scrap metal, but the other one had managed to pull itself out of the debris. It came over and lifted Allison out of the rubble. She tried to dig me out, but the machine stopped her. "If you move to much debris, he may get crushed. Go, I will get him out."_

_ Allison looked at me. "I'm not leaving you here."_

_ I shook my head. "Yes you.." I gasped in pain. "Yes you are. Look, the door is right there. Just run right for the Templars warehouse, you'll be safe there. Get underground. This terminator will get me out. I'll be alright."_

_ Allison started to sob. I pulled my right arm out from under some rubble and placed it on her shoulder. "Look, Alli. I'll be alright. I've been hurt worse. Go, before enemy machines get here." As soon as I said that, plasma shots richocede off the concrete around us. I looked Allison dead in the eyes. "RUN! NOW!" _

_ Allison leaned in and kissed me then headed towards the exit of the tunnel. The 800 that was with me was analyzing the rubble, trying to determine a safe way to get me out, while providing cover fire for the two of us. I kept my eyes fixed on Allison. She was almost to the exit. She stopped and turned around. Against the moonlight, I could see her raise her hand to her mouth as if to blow me one last kiss, then she exited the tunnel. She was about 15 feet away from the exit when she screamed. I couldn't see her anymore. I tried pulling myself out of the rubble, but only irritated my wound. Then I saw Allison being lifted out of the air in a large net. "ALLISON!!!"_

I pulled my face out of the dirt and looked up to where soldiers were pouring in to re-enforce the _Templars._ Allison came running towards me. She knelt down right in front of me. "David."

"Allison."

She frowned. "No, David. Cameron."

"Cameron?"

"Yes. I brought heavy re-enforcements." Cameron reached out and grabbed my arm, wrapping her hand around my wrist. She looked me up and down carefully. "You are not injured." She paused. "You are incredibly fortunate. The odds of surviving a strike from a Maverick missile are…"

"Never tell me the odds." I told Cameron while I pulled myself to my feet. I looked around. Sam was standing over Jonathan's lifeless form. Apparently, he didn't make it. Jack was being cared for by some medics. Cameron's heavy infantry, plus John's tanks and Apaches were making short work of what was left of Skynets forces. The remaining T-X's, all 15 of them, were putting up a serious fight, but they were losing the battle. I looked up to the sky. Two of my F-14's flew over, firing missiles into the cluster of T-X's. Several were blown apart; one was launched by the explosion closer to me and Cameron. It picked itself off the ground, saw Cameron, and then saw me, and opened fire. I grabbed Cameron and pulled her down to the ground. Sam and three other Tech-Com soldiers opened fire on the T-X. A lucky plasma shot knocked out its power source, and it fell to the ground. I looked back at it to see Sam walking up to it, grabbing its head and going for the chip port. I looked back down at Cameron. The T-X had landed a lucky shot to her upper abdomen, just under her power cell. Cameron's eyes were lit up, but they were going from dim to bright, then back again. She looked down at her chest.

"My power cell has been hit. It is losing power…" Her eyes dimmed again, then brightened up a little. "I estimate I have four minutes of power left." Her eyes dimmed back out.

"Sam!" I called out. Sam looked over at me. "Get me a jeep or something. Cameron got hit!"

Sam nodded, then marched briskly towards an idling Hummer. I looked back down at Cameron. "Hang on tight, Cam. I'm going to get you back to Serrano."

Her head came up and tilted to the right. "Are you alright?"

I chuckled. Aside from a few scrapes and a serious headache, this would probably be the first time I walked away from a battle. "I'm fine, Cam. Save your power."

Sam pulled the Hummer over to where Cam and I were sitting. I put my arms under Cameron's legs and arms, and lifted her. She was lighter than I expected, but she was still freaking heavy. I stumbled twice, but finally plopped her into the back of the Hummer. I opened the passenger door to the Hummer and got in next to Sam. "Get us back to Serrano, Sam."

Sam nodded, then started driving towards Serrano. I reached up and pulled the radio mic from the ceiling. "Conner, this is Marcus. Come in."

A moment. "Yeah, David?"

"I've got Cameron. She's been hit. Her power cell is losing power. Set up a repair crew in the infirmary. We're on our way back."

"The crew is already there. Can she talk?"

I looked back at Cameron. She turned her head towards me. "Yes. I can talk."

I nodded. "Yeah John. Here she is." I stretched the mic cord out so it could reach her. She grabbed the mic. "John?"

"Cameron, are you alright?"

"My chassis is not damaged, all we need to do is replace my power cell."

Another moment. "Cameron, I told you not to go out there. I knew you would get hurt."

I looked back at Cameron. "You came out here against John's orders?"

"Yes. I was concerned for you."

"That was foolish."

"If I had not, you would be dead right now."

"You don't know that."

"When I arrived, there was a T-X approaching your position. It was less than 15 feet away from you. It would have made sure you were dead."

I shook my head. "I don't care, Cam. You could have been damaged worse than this. You are never going to do this again, understand me? I'll deactivate you for the next battle, Cam. I'm serious."

She opened her mouth to respond, but she was cut off by the sound of an aerial HK cutting around in front of the Hummer. "Shit!" I yelled, going for the roof gun. I opened the hatch. Cameron was talking to John.

"John, an HK is cutting us off. Send a fighter."

I got behind the gun and opened fire. This Hummer still had the old fifty caliber rifle. I didn't know what kind of damage it would do to the HK, but it was all I had. I opened fire. The bullets just seemed to bounce of the HK's armor. The HK launched a missile. Sam swerved right, but the missile hit just behind the Hummers left rear wheel, sending the Hummer flying. I got the distinct feeling of flying through the air just before I crashed into dirt, blacking out…

**Unknown Time.**

_It's another triple eight! The plasma rifle screeches in my hand, the triple eight falls. I see Allison running back to the Serrano entrance. If I can hold of these trip eights, she'll have a chance. I turn back around to look at where the triple eights were. They're gone. Curious, but not dumb enough to just stand around and wait to get shot, I start running for the entrance. Allison is beating on the door, yelling to be let in. Why hasn't the Resistance let her in? Suddenly, the door gets pelted with plasma fire. Allison screams and ducks. I turn back around and fire back at the now visible triple eights. Oh my God! There's too many of them. I hear the door start to creep open. "Allison, go! Get into Serrano!" Allison nods and clambers inside the door. I start backing up towards the door, firing as I go. I get to the door and turn to go in, pulling the door shut behind me. The door closes. Serrano is dark, there's no lights, no nothing. I reach for my flashlight, flick it on and turn around…_

_ OH MY GOD, NO!!! I find myself staring at Allison, a metallic arm sticking out where her heart would be, the metallic face of a T-600 staring at me. I look in the T-600's left hand. It's holding Allison's heart. I fall back against the door. That's not just Allison's heart, that's my heart too. I fall to the floor. Let that thing kill me, I have no reason to fight. I start crying uncontrollably. A loud screech gets my attention. The T-600, along with Allison's body, falls to the ground. Cameron comes walking up from behind it. My heart wrenches in my chest. I'm sure it's about to stop working. Cameron pulls me up off the floor. _

_ "We have to go, David. John needs you."_

_ I try to look at Cameron, but I can't. Her face, her body, her voice…. I jerk away from her, and then I'm startled by a loud banging on the door. The triple eights outside are trying to break in. Cameron grabs my arm again. "We have to leave, now!"_

_ I pull out from her grasp and kneel by Allison. My Allison… Cameron places her hand on my shoulder. "There is nothing you can do for her, David. She is dead." _

_ I start to pull Allison off of the T-600. After three heart breaking pulls, her body comes free. I pick her up and carry her over to the wall that faces the door. Light is now shining through. The trip eights will be in here any moment. I sit down on the floor, cradling Allison against my body with my left arm, holding my plasma rifle with my right. I finally manage to look up at Cameron, tears flowing freely from my eyes. "Tell Conner about Allison. Tell Conner I said it was an honor. Tell Connor… I'm keeping my promise."_

_ Cameron tilted her head to the right. "What promise?"_

_ I half smiled. "I promised Conner that, even if I was the last person on the outer perimeter, I would not let it fall." _

_ Cameron finally understood. "You are committing suicide."_

_ I shook my head. "No. If I were committing suicide, I'd be the one shooting myself."_

_ More light floods the room. Arms of the triple eights can be seen. I'm surprised they haven't started shooting. I look at Cameron. "Go. Now. Be there for John. Protect him. Never…" My voice chokes as I look down at Allison. "Never leave him alone." Another bang, and the door is half down. I look at Cameron again. "Go, now!" _

_ Cameron starts to run down a hallway, then turns back around. "I'm sorry, David."_

_ I nod. "Me too." But I wasn't saying it to Cameron. I was saying it to Allison. Sorry I didn't go in first, sorry I couldn't save you. Sorry we never got the chance for so many things._

_ One door comes down, and triple eights start pouring in. I hold Allison's body close to me, kissing her on the forehead. "I love you, Alli…" My voice cracks. "I love you so much." I kiss her on the lips one last time. I look at her face. She seems so peaceful, so at rest. "I'll see you soon." I raised my right arm and start shooting at the triple eights. I bag two before a shot rips into my right shoulder. I drop the rifle. A triple eight walks up to me, looks down at me. It reaches down and grabs me by the throat. _

_ "John Conner. Where is John Conner?" it asks._

_ I stare into its red eyes. "Screw you."_

_ The triple eight drops me on my feet. I know what's coming next. The triple eights signature kill. I look down at Allison. I want her to be the last thing that I see. Then I feel it, the punch, and then my heart being crushed. The pain is almost unbearable. I fall to the ground, my face right next to Allison's. The world begins to go black around her beautiful, peaceful face…_

"GAH!" I shot up from the bed, ripping needles out of my left arm and the oxygen tubes from my nose. "Aw, shit! What the hell?…" The world starts to spin. I reach for my head, then fell myself start to fall over. I tried to reach for something to stop my fall, but my arms refused to obey. Suddenly, a strong arm grabs my left shoulder and pushes me back into the bed.

"Cameron was right." It was John. "You do have terrible nightmares."

I was breathing hard. I couldn't see worth a crap, and the lights kept fading in and out. "John, what happened?"

John sighed. "One of the HK's found saw the Hummer and followed you. Then it shot the Hummer. You're lucky to be alive."

I remembered the incident. "Where's Cameron?"

John sighed again. "I've got a couple of mechanics patching her back up. She got pretty banged up…" He paused. I knew why. He was tearing up.

"John. I'm sorry. I should have been more careful…"

A nurse came in and started replacing the needles I had ripped out. Once she had everything reset, John continued. "No, David. It's not your fault. She wouldn't listen to me. She had to get to you, to make sure that you were alright."

"How long have I been out?"

"Seven days. Three were surgery, four were recovery. You weren't supposed to wake up for another couple of days. With your injuries and the cocktail of drugs flowing through you; you shouldn't even be having nightmares."

"How bad am I hurt?"

A knock on the door. I saw two shapes in the doorway. One was small, like a girl. The other was large, like a bodybuilder. "John?" It was Cameron. "Is he alright?"

"Well, he's awake." John said.

Cameron walked up to me. I thought she was pretty far away, but then her hand touched my cheek. I jumped. She pulled her hand away timidly. "No, Cam. You're fine… I just thought you were still on the other side of the room."

"You can't see?" She asked worriedly.

"I see blurs of light and dark." I pointed to the bigger blur in the door way. "Sam?"

"Yes."

"Glad to see you made it, buddy." I laughed, then winced. "Cameron. Are you alright?"

"I am functioning at one hundred percent."

"That's good." I tried to stroke her face, but my right arm wouldn't respond. "What the hell is wrong with my right arm?"

"David…" Cameron started. "It was crushed by the Hummer. The doctors had to remove it."

Her voice was flooded with emotion. If she was human, she would have probably broken down. I reached for her with my left arm. John helped guide it. It reached her face. I could feel stitches all the way down the right side of her face. In a couple of places there was bare coltan. "I'm sorry…" I said, before everything went black again.

** So that's chapter four. I brought back the original dream sequence from the old chapter two of this story, because I like it. And I don't wanna hear about how a dream makes David to heroic. Since when do people have realistic dreams?**

** Sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter up. I've been really busy with work, and haven't had much time to write. But since I got permission to bring my laptop to work, I can write AND work at the same time! Awesome, I know. **

** So read and review. Let me know what you think. I am trying to decide whether to make the next chapter from Cameron's POV, or maybe just keep it in David's POV. Suggestions and predictions would be welcome! **


	5. Waking Up

**Chapter 5**

**Waking Up/ A Revalation.**

"David?" Cameron asked gently.

"David? Can you hear me?" It was John.

I tried to open my eyes. They flickered open, then slowly opened, allowing me to see Cameron's face a few inches from mine. She looked up at John.

"He's coming around."

"Very astute." I said groggily. I looked over at John, then back at Cameron. "What happened?"

"You blacked out because your body didn't have enough blood for you to move and keep you awake. Not to mention you were drugged up pretty good, and you had a major concussion. You just weren't ready to move." John said.

"I remember Cameron telling me that my right arm was gone…" I said sadly. I looked down towards where my right arm would be, but Cameron pulled my head back up.

"Before you look, there is something you need to know." She said.

"Yeah?"

"Your arm has been replaced. I made you a prosthetic. However…" Cameron paused. "I used the arm from a damaged T-950 to create your prosthetic." She looked apologetic. "I didn't want you to freak out when you saw it." She released my head, and I looked down at my arm. It was a solid arm, not a strange design of metal tubes. If it was flesh toned, I don't think I would have even noticed. I pulled my hand into a fist. The fingers moved fluidly, smoothly. Powerfully. I flexed my arm. The arm flexed just as smooth. And just as powerful. I looked at Cameron.

"How did you pull this one off?"

"I had to perform an extensive reconstruction of your right shoulder. Your shoulder is also mechanical. All the way to your sternum," Cameron traced her finger across my shoulder, down my sternum until she was level with my underarm, then across to underneath my arm. "All of that is mechanical now. I'm sorry, David."

I pulled my right hand up to her face, which was still healing. "Hey. It's alright, Cam. You did what you could for me. I'd rather be like this than never have an arm at all."

Cameron thought about this for a second. "So… Even though you are part of what you hate, you are grateful?"

"Yes, Cam, I am. Because even though I am part machine now, I can still fight. I can still work. I can do lots of things thanks to you."

Cameron seemed to accept this. She looked over at John, then back down at me. "I need to go help some of the other nurses." She leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. "Be careful, David." She looked at John. "Don't let him leave this bed." Cameron turned and walked out of the room. I looked up at John.

"Since when did she become a doctor?" I asked while I sat up. John placed his hand on my left shoulder, pushing me back onto the bed.

"Since she can scan a human and detect what's wrong before a doctor even sets up an IV. And you're not getting out of bed, David. Not today."

"John. I have been in this bed for how long?"

"Almost twelve days since you passed out."

"So, that's what, nineteen days in this bed? There is another soldier somewhere that needs this bed. I have a bed I can lie in all day in my quarters. Just let me go there."

John shook his head. "No David, because that's not where you'll go. You'll go to the armory, or maybe down to the garage. Or you'll hop a Hummer down to Miramar and help repair your fighters. No, David. You're staying here."

"Look, John. I will let you escort me to my room. You can even post Sam on guard duty. He won't let me out of my room. Please John. Just let me get out of here…"

John looked at me, puzzled and amused. "David? Are you afraid of the infirmary?"

_"David? You afraid of the infirmary?" Allison asked._

_ I looked over at her. We were standing just outside the infirmary entrance. John had been wounded, and we were here to see him. "Not afraid. I just don't like it. Needles and scalpels and… Death."_

_ Allison smiled and nodded. "I understand."_

"David? You hear me?"

I looked at John. "Uh…."

John laughed. "Well, it looks like I finally found something to threaten you with."

"You wouldn't dare."

John laughed, then sighed. He looked over at Sam. "If I let him go back to his quarters, will you make sure he stays there?"

Sam nodded. "Yes."

John sighed again. "Alright, David. You can go to your quarters. But don't you dare go elsewhere. If Cameron finds out…"

I laughed. "Speaking of Cameron… How are things going between you two?"

John looked away. "I don't know, really. It's like… Well, David. She's a machine. Does she even know what love is?"

I sat up, nodding. "I follow. But John. Ask yourself this. If she was incapable of loving, then why would she disobey your direct orders to not enter the battlefield so she could come and rescue me?"

John looked at me. "Point. But you've taken care of her; you've taught her so much. You've protected her…. David, if anything, she should be your…"

I held my hand up. "Stop. I love the girl, yes. But she is NOT Allison. She never will be. Allison had my heart. Now Allison is gone. And so is my heart. So no, John. Cameron is yours. If you want her. But John, if you hurt her…" I flexed my new right arm. "I will hurt you."

John looked at me. "Uh huh. Like I can hurt her…" He joked.

"John, I'm serious. Mentally, she's like a child, maybe a teenager now. You know that teenage females can be crushed by a single word. I'm serious, John. Be very careful with her."

John nodded seriously. "Alright." He waved me out of the bed. "Get to your room before Cameron comes back in here."

I heaved myself off the bed and reached for my clothes.

_**An hour later…**_

There was a knock on my door. I turned my head to the metal entrance. "Enter."

The massive door swung open, and Cameron stepped in. "You should not have left the infirmary… It was better for you there."

I laughed. "If you mean better because it was closer to the medical equipment, then sure. But, humans recuperate better in an environment they are comfortable in."

Cameron tilted her head sideways. "Are you afraid of the infirmary?"

I gave her a wry grin. "John told you, didn't he?"

Cameron smiled. "Yes."

I chuckled. "I figured he'd tell you." I sat up and sighed. "So, what brings you in to my humble abode?"

She walked over to my bed and sat down next to me. "I think I am in love with John."

I let my mouth fall open a little. "No. Seriously?"

She gave me a puzzled look, and then gave me a serious look. "Yes, seriously."

"Alright, Cameron. What makes you think so?"

"I have noticed that when humans encounter a member of the opposite sex that they are attracted to, their heart will race, their blood pressure rises, they seem to lose focus of their current task, certain genit…"

"Alright, Cam. I get it. Do you have some "reactions", to John's presence?"

"Yes. My CPU will increase power output, my optical sensors become slightly fuzzy, I feel a need to kiss him, then a desire to have inter…"

"I get the picture." I rubbed my temples. She sure spared no details if she thought them important. "Okay. Some of the human reactions you described refer more to lust than love, but a couple you mentioned are part of being in love. When I was around Allison…" I paused. Did I really want to take this path? Recount my memories of Allison to her clone? "When I was with Alli, my heart would race, and I couldn't focus on certain tasks, either. But Allison always dressed modestly, in several layers, so I can be pretty sure it wasn't lust. Oh, she was beautiful, but… It was more her presence, her personality, was intoxicating…."

_"Allison!"_

_ Allison's head popped up from a computer screen. "Yes, General?"_

_ "You any good with tools?" _

_ "Yes, sir!"_

_ John nodded. "Alright, they need your help in the hangar bay. David!" He yelled._

_ I backed away from our captured T-1 we were trying to outfit. "Sir?"_

_ "Go help Allison get those choppers ready. You know 'em better than anyone."_

_ I looked over at Allison, who looked away shyly, then looked back at John with a smile."Yes, sir!" I walked over to where Allison was standing. "You ready?"_

_ She looked at me. "Yeah, just give me a minute."_

_**Ten Minutes Later.**_

_ "Damn it David! I thought you knew these things!" Allison yelled as a hydraulic line crashed on top of her head. _

_ "I do! I do! Just, give me a sec!" It wasn't that I didn't know how to repair a Huey. Actually, this particular Huey had enough of my blood on it to be a close relative. No, I knew this bird, but I had never worked on it with Allison. I reached back and grabbed a wrench, and a roll of duck tape, then crawled over to where Allison was. She was rubbing her head from where the line had hit her. "Hey, you alright?"_

_ "I'm fine. It's just… Oww." She placed her hand back where the line had hit her, and this time, her fingers were coated in blood. "Well, that's just great." She muttered._

_ I reached up towards the front of the Huey and grabbed the first aid kit, pulling out gauze pads and a small bottle of alcohol, and then crawled back over to where Allison was. "Here, let me take a look." _

_ Allison moved over to where I was, and leaned against my chest. My heart skipped a beat for a moment. "So, you know first aid, too?"_

_ "I know a lot of things, Allison."_

_ "Like how to tighten a hydraulic line?" She asked sarcastically._

_ I patted one of the gauze strips to the cut on her head. "Actually, I'm usually really good at that." I poured a little bit of alcohol onto another pad and dabbed her head. She winced. "Sorry. But, when I'm trying to fix a chopper, I don't usually have a distraction."_

_ "A distraction?" She asked, then winced again as I patter her cut with the alcohol pad again. "What kind of distraction?"_

_ I swallowed for a second. Why did I have to say something like that now? I looked down at Allison's head. Her brown hair was lit up because of the way the light was hitting it. She pulled herself up and turned around and looked at me. "What kind of distraction?"_

_ "You." I said._

_ She blinked. "Me."_

_ "Yeah, you. I have never worked on a Huey with the most beautiful woman on the planet with me."_

_ Allison smiled and looked away. Then she laughed. "Yeah, well, it's not every day I get to work on a Huey with the most handsome man on the planet."_

_ I smiled and laughed. "If you think I'm the most handsome man on the planet, you need to talk to Ellison and get your head straightened out."_

_ She laughed. "Same for you."_

_ I laughed. She sat there, looking at me, as if she was waiting for me to do something. 'Well, here goes nothing.' I leaned in and kissed her. And for a few seconds, the war, the world, the Huey, it all went away…_

"David?" Cameron asked me. "Are you alright?"

I looked at her. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking…"

"About Allison." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes. About Allison."

A look of sadness crossed Cameron's face. "I am sorry, David. Every time you see me, I know you are seeing her. Every time you hear my voice, I know you are hearing her. When I found you on the battle field, you thought I was her. You called her name. Skynet used me to make her, and you see me every day…" Cameron stopped, and a single tear rolled down her face. I reached out and wiped it away.

"I didn't know you could cry." I paused. My throat was tightening. "Look, Cameron. I can't blame you for what has happened. You are not the same person that you were when you were first created. You have changed, so much…" I swallowed hard. "I'm proud to have been here for you. To have helped you grow into what you are today." I pulled her hand up to my lips and kissed it. "You are an amazing woman. Never let anyone tell you otherwise."

"But I am not human…"

"Not like me. Not like Allison. But you have a personality, you have compassion. You want to help others and you love. I don't know what else you may need."

Cameron looked down. "But I cause pain. To you, to John. To everyone."

"So do humans. All the time."

Cameron nodded slowly. "I understand. Thank you for explaining."

I nodded once. Cameron ran her hand up and down my new arm. I felt a tingling sensation as she did. "Cam, did you put nerves into the arm?"

She looked at me quizzically. Then a look of realization crossed her face. "The T-950 was designed with regenerative capabilities. The arm is restoring its organic tissues."

I looked down at the arm. It was starting to look as if tissues were growing from inside it. It was actually kind of gross. I reached over and pulled on my olive drab green army jacket. "Now, back to John. Let me ask you two questions. The first is this. What would you do for John?"

"Anything."

"Now, is that because you were programmed to, or because you want to?"

"I… Because I want to."

"Very good. Now, question two. Would you die for John?"

"That was covered in the last question, David."

I shook my head. "No, it wasn't. See, a human will say that they will do anything for a person, but when it comes down to the wire, and they know that they could save the person that they love by giving up their life, but they don't… Now, there are some cases where it's understandable, but in my opinion, if that person does not lay down their life for the one that they love, then I do not believe that they were in love. It is the person that is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for someone that is truly in love."

"Then does everyone love John?"

I laughed. "Yes, but this is a little different. I'm talking… Okay, try this. You see a terminator coming up to kill John. It's more powerful than you, it's faster than you. John cannot escape unless you hold off the machine. What do you do?"

"Fight the machine."

"Why?"

"Because…" Cameron tiled her head to one side. "He is too important to die."

"Who is he important to?"

"Me."

"Checkmate. And with that, Cameron, I say to you that you love him, and it is a true love."

Cameron tilts her head to the right, then smiles widely, jumping up and hugging me tightly. "Thank you for explaining, David. I love you."

I smiled. "You're welcome, Cam. And I love you too." I pulled out of the hug. "Now, you are going to go talk to John about this."

"But I…"

"But you what?"

"I'm afraid."

I laughed. "Oh Cameron, you are so much more human than you know. It's okay to be afraid. I know why you are afraid. Because you're not sure I John feels the same way about you, right?"

She nodded.

"Well, something tells me you have nothing to fear." I winked at her.

She tilted her head to the right again. "Why?"

I smiled. "Oh, just a hunch. Now, go talk to John! I'm going outside to catch some fresh air."

Cameron frowned. "Alright. But be careful, David."

"Yes mother."

Her eyes pulsed blue.

"Okay, alright. I'll be careful. I don't want you crippling me so I can't walk for a while, so I'll be careful. I promise."

"Good."

**One Hour Later.**

The weather was usually very clear around Serrano, and out past Checkpoint Charlie, there were very few lights in the area. So, with minimal cloud cover and a clear night sky, the stars were always amazing. I looked up at the thousands of stars, trying to dive deeper and deeper into the layers that never seemed to end. Once I could look no further, I looked over towards the San Francisco area. Cameron told me once that she was built on an aircraft carrier. Most ships like that were in San Francisco, as the Resistance didn't have carriers. And Los Angeles was virtually free of a Skynet naval presence. So, if Allison was alive, she was in San Francisco. I was trying to figure out what was going on in my heart, and my head. Ever since Allison had been taken, all of my dreams had her in them. I would always dream about living with Allison in a normal neighborhood that John had described to me, having a job and raising a family. My nightmares were always about her dying. I always had more nightmares.

There were days I could swear it was as if Allison was standing right next to me. And then there were times like this, when my heart felt empty and bleeding. It had to be Cameron. That was all there was too it.

She was, unfortunately, right. Every time I saw her, I thought I saw Allison. Every time she spoke, I heard Allison's voice. She was almost a perfect Allison clone. When she first arrived and we reprogrammed her, I thought she might be able to replace Allison. Just, step in her shoes. But that didn't work at all. John fell for her, crazy quirks and all. He was hooked. And I pretty much sat back and watched them go through a very different version of falling in love. And every day, I was reminded of Allison.

James Ellison told me that even though Allison was gone, she still lived. He said that the human heart and mind created copies of the person we knew and used those copies in our times of hurt and pain as a way to cope…

_It had been almost four weeks since Allison had been taken. John decided that Serrano needed a break away from the war, and told Cameron to figure out a way to get some R&R for his soldiers. Cameron then went about rigging up a giant screen and projector for a movie. She found one, but refused to tell people what it was until the night of the movie. I sat down in the back row, which was empty at this time. The rest of the soldiers were crammed forward, amazed by the fact that they were seeing a movie. The title and music came up. _

_ "Titanic."_

_ I had never seen the movie, but I was aware of the tragedy of the ship. 1500 dead, a ship thought unsinkable sunk by an iceberg on her maiden voyage. What possible good could this movie have?_

_ "Hello, David." It was James Ellison._

_ "James."_

_ He sat down next to me, rested his left leg on top of his right knee, and sat back in the chair. "Good movie." He said._

_ "Wouldn't know. Never saw it."_

_ Ellison sighed. "David. You can't grieve forever."_

_ "Why not?"_

_ "Because Allison wouldn't want that."_

_ "How do you know?"_

_ ….._

_ The movie was drawing to a close. Jack and Rose were floating in the water. Jack was gone. A whistle was blowing._

_ "I'll never let go, Jack."_

_ Ellison looked at me. He read me like a book. I was nowhere near the movie. I was buried under rubble. Helpless. Watching Allison be taken captive. Hearing her scream my name and not being able to do anything about it. I tried to keep a straight face. One tear made it down my face._

_ "David. You can cry. You need to cry."_

_ I hadn't shed one tear for Allison. I had tried to be strong. Tried to hold out for hope. Ordered the Templar pilots on fifteen recon missions to find her. Nothing. No hope. I saw Allison's face in my mind. But just like Jack, she slipped away into the abyss. I could barely remember her face. "I can't remember her face, James!" I cried. The tears started coming, then the sobs. Where other soldiers, men and women had been tearing about the movie, they had all stopped. They were looking at me. I didn't care. Nothing mattered. Allison was gone. She had my heart, and she was gone. _

_ Ellison tried to comfort me. "She's not gone, David. She's still in there. She always will be. She'll always be in your heart, David."_

_ A blanket was wrapped around my shoulders. John was behind me now, his hands on my shoulders. "It's going to be okay, David. One day, it will be alright."_

_ I couldn't believe them. I was losing all memory of Allison; her voice, her face. The way she walked and the way she would act in different situations. It was all slipping away._

_ The credits to the movie started rolling. A song started playing. It sounded Irish. People were talking around me. James grabbed my shoulder. "Listen to the song, David. This is the reason we picked the movie. It's called 'My Heart Will Go On.' Listen to it and think of Allison."_

_ I listened to the song. The longer I listened, the clearer Allison's face got…._

I had my eyes closed. Allison was there, just as she always was. Smiling as if she didn't have a care in the world. I started humming the song, as much as I could remember. I sat there for what felt like an hour lost in my memories.

The sound of gravel scrunching under someone's boots came from behind me. I turned to see Sam standing there, looking at me with a puzzled look on his face. "Whatcha need, Sam?"

"Several soldiers are looking for General Connor. Do you know where he is?"

I shook my head. "Not really. I have a thought, though. Did you walk here?"

"Yes, through the tunnels."

"Okay. Let's go back and head for John's quarters. See if he's there."

Sam nodded and headed back for the tunnels. I followed, but turned around to cast one last look towards San Francisco. "I love you, Allison." I turned and followed Sam.

**Ten minutes later.**

The door to John's quarters was closed. As a rule in the Resistance, no one was allowed into John's quarters unless they were a close friend, or had something very urgent to tell him.

However, that rule was about to be broken by five Tech-Com soldiers, all of them with guns in their hands. I ran up to them. "Hang on, boys! What's going on here?"

One of the soldiers, a younger Hispanic guy, looked at me. "The metal bitch went in there! She's trying to kill him!"

I walked up to the soldier and punched him hard with my right arm. The man went flying. The rest of the soldiers looked at me, their mouths wide open. Another Hispanic soldier yelled out, "Damn gray!" They all raised their guns and aimed at me. Sam grabbed me and spun us around, his back to the soldiers, me in front of him. Gun shots echoed through the halls and bullets zinged off Sam's body. Alarms started wailing, people started shouting. I pulled out my .44 Desert Eagle and chambered a round.

"CEASE FIRE!" John's voice boomed over the P.A. system. The Tech Com soldiers stopped firing. The smell of gunpowder filled the air. The smell of Sam's burnt skin was strong. I pulled away from Sam and looked at him. "You okay?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"Alright." I walked around Sam and faced the Tech Com soldiers. "Are you out of your damn minds!"

The door to John's room opened up, and Cameron jumped outside and ran towards me. "David!" She wrapped her arms around me. "Are you alright?"

"I'm not injured, if that's what you mean."

She looked at me, then turned and looked at the Tech Com soldiers. They looked scared out of their minds. Cameron pulled her .45 out of its holster and aimed it at them. They raised their rifles. Sam raised his, and I raised up my .44, and tucked in behind Sam.

"ENOUGH!" It was John. "If anyone pulls a trigger, I don't care who they are, I will kill you myself!"

Cameron pulled her .45 down, and placed it in its holster. The Tech Com soldiers pulled their rifles down, except for that same young Hispanic. He kept his rifle aimed squarely at Sam. Sam didn't pull his rifle down, either. I came out from behind Sam, the .44 aimed at the Hispanic. "Drop the gun, soldier!" I yelled.

John reached behind his door and brought out an aging Spas 12 shotgun. "Drop it!" He yelled.

The Hispanic looked at John, then looked at me, then over at Cameron, who had her hand hovering over her holster. He looked at all of us again, then screamed out, "DAMN METALS!!!" He opened fire.

He swung his rifle from left to right, squeezing down the trigger. He hit Sam three times, hit me in the shoulder, hit Cameron twice, then swung back again. Cameron's .45 spoke first, then Sam's M-16, my .44, and John's shotgun. The man fell, holes riddled in his body. More soldiers started pouring into the corridor, most of them being _Templars._ Jack came up behind me. "Are we shooting at our own people, now?"

I looked at him. "Only when they threaten high priority Resistance just because they're not human."

John walked up to his Tech Com soldiers. "I should kill you guys right here and now for that little stunt you pulled. Any of you think I'm joking?"

Silence. "I want you bastards packed up and out of Serrano within four hours! I'm ordering you to Houston. They have the same respect for machines there; you'll fit in just fine." The soldiers just stood there. "Well, what the hell are you waiting for?! Get going!"

The soldiers started to walk away, but Cameron stopped them. "I'll take your weapons, please."

"What?" One of them asked.

"Your weapons. You will be issued new ones in Houston."

"You expect us to drive to Houston with no weapons."

"No." Cameron said. "You will be flown. Your weapons, NOW."

One by one, the soldiers threw their guns down at Cameron's feet. Once she knew they were all there, she let the soldiers go.

John looked over at me. "David. Don't punch another one of my soldiers. I don't care what they say about Cameron, I will handle it."

I nodded sheepishly. Another Tech Com soldier came running down the hall. "Sir! General Connor!"

"What is it, Mike?"

"That T-X! The one that we never found! It's come back! It says that it has defected!"

I looked over at Sam. "Is that possible?"

Sam looked down at me. "I have no data as to whether that is possible."

"It's possible, Mr. Marcus." A heavy Scottish voice called out from behind me.

I turned to see Catherine Weaver standing there, a small smirk on her face. "How?"

"How did I defect? I chose."

**There's chapter 5. I am so sorry that it has taken this long to update. I have been really freakin' busy! That, and I never liked the way this chapter kept coming out. I still don't, but it'll have to do. Right then, leave comments and suggestions as you please. Thanks!**


	6. Phoenix

Chapter Six

Phoenix.

I peeked my head from around the tank. The T-X was standing there, looking at all the resistance weaponry aimed at it, probably analyzing its chances of survival if it tried to kill John. John came up next to me with Sam and Cameron. "David, what do you think?"

"I think it's too risky to send you to speak to it. At least until we can determine whether it 's bein' honest or not."

"You don't think it is?" Cameron asked.

I looked back at her. "I don't know. I really don't know."

Catherine Weaver walked up directly behind me. "I agree with you, Mr. Marcus. We should not allow General Connor to speak with the T-X unless it proves that it can be trusted."

"I agree with Miss Weaver." The voice of John Henry stated. I turned around to see John Henry standing in full combat dress, something no one had ever seen before. He smiled his half smile at me. "Hello David. It has been a while. How are you doing?"

_"How are you doing, David?" John Henry asked. _

_ I was laying in a gurney, my chest wrapped in bandages. Skynet had managed to raid Serrano Point and kill hundreds of people. They captured even more. No one had heard from Allison in several hours. "I'm scared, Henry. Very scared. I have no idea where Allison is _

_ John Henry nodded his understanding. "I am confident Allison will be okay."_

_ The door to the infirmary opened and John walked in. He visited all the soldiers that were in the gurneys. For some of them, this would be their first, and last time to see the General. John made his way slowly to where I was. "How are you doing, David?"_

_ "He is concerned for Allison." John Henry remarked. _

_ John nodded. "We're looking for her, David. I'm sure it'll only be a matter of time before we find her."_

_ A loud noise just outside the infirmary made everyone look toward the door. John pulled his pistol out and John Henry grabbed a plasma rifle lying by my gurney. We could begin to hear voices._

_ "Look, he's in there and that's where I'm going!"_

_ "Look lady, I don't care who's in there! You're not allowed in!" _

_ The door to the infirmary slammed open, and Allison marched in, he clothes torn and tattered, her face blackened and her hair an absolute mess. Her face wore a mask of determination. Her eyes were watery. She marched up to John. "Where is he?" She asked. _

_ "Right here, Alli." I said, wincing against the pain._

_ She looked over at me, then rushed forward, grabbing me in a tight hug..._

"David? You with us?" Barnes asked. I looked up.

"Barnes?"

"Who the hell else would it be?"

I extended my hand to Corporal Barnes, who took it and shook it vigorously. "It's good to see you, man."

"Good to see you, too. So what the hell is going on here?"

John looked at Barnes. "We've got one T-X claiming that it has defected. It was the only one that survived the assault you missed here at Serrano Point. We have no idea what to do about this…"

"I miss anything?" I turned to see John's best pilot, Blair Williams, crouch next to Cameron. "Cameron, John, Barnes. David. How ya holding?"

"Fine."

"That's good."

_ "Hey David?" Blair asked, sitting across the table from me in the mess hall. "How ya' holding?"_

_ I looked up at her with my eyes, keeping my face down towards my food bowl. "I'm holding."_

_ "That's good." She said. "Look, umm. A few of the men are questioning your decision about the Allison lookalike… Cameron?"_

_ I nodded. "Yeah. Cameron."_

_ "Okay. I just want you to know… I don't."_

_ I brought my head up to look at her this time. "You don't?"_

_ She shook her head. "No, I don't. I understand. You think humans and machines can co-exist. I do too."_

_ I raised my left eye brow. "How'd you come to that opinion."_

_ She exhaled heavily. "Marcus Wright." She responded, looking away sadly._

_ I tilted my head over to the left. "You knew Marcus Wright?"_

_ She smiled. "He saved my life. He brought… Hope. At least to me he did. And to John."_

_ I looked over to where John was sitting. "How so?"_

_ Blair looked down at her plate. "John went to rescue Kyle Reese from Skynet central. Back when Central was in San Francisco. He was wounded badly. By his heart. It was so bad his own heart couldn't keep him alive. Marcus gave John his heart." She swallowed hard. _

_ It hit me. "You loved him, didn't you?"_

_ I could see a single tear roll down her face. "Yes."_

_ "I'm sorry." _

_ She nodded. "Marcus proved to me that machines and humans can co-exist. We need to if we're going to survive this war, and life afterwards."_

_ "What do you mean?"_

_ She looked at me as if I was crazy. "David. What's happened to all the teachers? Where are all the scientists? They're either dead, or going to be killed. Who is going to teach our future generations about… Anything? They can be the teachers. They can help the human race rebuild. It's not just that, though. They can help save lives. They can infiltrate Skynet, combat Skynet. They can help us limit human casualties. "_

_ She was right. There were no more college professors, no more scientists. Or at least, there weren't going to be any by the time this war was over. We needed the machines to help rebuild. "Thank you." I told her._

_ She looked at me puzzled. "For what, David?"_

_ "I've known that the men are having a difficult time understanding my decision. I've been confronted by a lot. And I was really beginning to regret my decision. About Cameron. But what you have told me… This gives me something else to use to defend my call."_

_ She smiled. "I'm glad. 'Cause I kinda like Cameron."_

_ "Really?"_

_ Blair nodded. "Yeah. She can almost fly a plane better than I can." _

_ I laughed. "Almost, huh?"_

_ "Almost."_

_ I chuckled for a bit. She looked at me. "Now how are you holding, David?"_

_ "Much better."_

_ "That's good."_

'Machines can save lives…' I thought. 'Save lives by… pretending to be someone they're not?' "Guys, I have it."

Everyone looked at me. "Catherine, you go out there as Connor. Cameron and Sam will go with you as his protection. That thing will never see it coming."

Everyone thought for a moment. Cameron was the first to speak. "David's idea is sound. The T-X cannot determine whether Catherine is human or not. John will be safe." She reached over and squeezed John's hand.

"But you won't be." John said, looking at Cameron right in the eyes.

"I will be fine."

"John, it's the best thing we can do." I said.

"Mr. Marcus is right. And Cameron will be perfectly safe, I assure you of that, General Connor." Catherine stated.

I looked over at Sam. "You'll keep her safe too, right?"

Sam nodded. "She will be safe."

I nodded. "See John? Nothing to worry about."

John was not convinced. "Look, I don't want her going out there…"

I was never one to lose my temper with John, but something snapped. "Well, hell John! Why didn't you tell me all I needed to do to keep Allison safe was to tell you I didn't want her 'going out there!' Thanks for telling me. I've got news for you, _General,_ Cameron is going to have more protection than you could have bothered to give Allison. And if you think you're the only one nervous about Cameron going out there, you're not as smart as we seem to think you are!"

There was a stunned silence over the group. John glared at me, and I glared right back. "You forget your place, _Lieutenant_ Marcus."

I kept staring right at him. "You're right. I seem to keep forgetting that I'm not the all powerful John Connor." I got up and turned away from the group, going around to the other side of the M1A1 we were all crouched behind, and started walking towards the T-X.

As I approached the T-X, I realized just how foolish this may have been. If this thing decided it didn't want to talk to me, it could just kill me and wait for John some more. Of course, the three _Templar _F-18 Hornets flying around overhead did give me a little bit of comfort.

As I closed the last twenty feet between myself and the T-X, the machine spoke up. "Stop there."

I did as I was told. "I'm here representing General John Connor."

"I wish to speak to General Connor."

"Well, to be honest, General Connor is afraid of coming out here and talking to you."

The T-X tilted its head. "Why?"

I took a step forward. "Honestly, we have no idea if you are sincere about defecting. We can't be sure you just won't kill him at first sight."

"I wish to join the Resistance. Why would I kill their leader?"

"Because you're Skynet."

"No. I am not."

I took another step forward. "Can you explain that?"

"I destroyed my transmitter to Skynet. I am completely under my own control."

Another step. "Is it possible for me to see this? Just to be sure."

The T-X paused for a moment. "Yes." It sat down gracefully in the dirt, turning away from me as it did. As I approached, it pointed to the back of its skull. "Here."

I looked where it was pointing. There had been a transmitter there once, but there wasn't any more. And with no other damage around the area, it was safe to say it was a self destruct of some kind. "Why would you do that?" I asked.

"If Skynet destroys the human race, then the earth will die, therefore causing the destruction of Skynet. This is not logical. Machines and humans can co-exist peacefully. That is why I have done this."

I nodded. "So. You want humans and machines to co-exist?"  
"Yes."

"Okay. Then this is what we will do. You and I are going to walk up the hill behind me, and you are going to talk to General Connor. Is that alright?"

The T-X nodded. "That is satisfactory."

I nodded. "Good. One last thing, though. Do you have a name?"

The T-X stood up and turned around to face me. "Yes. Each T-X from Skynet has a specific code name. Each one is different, unique. My code name is Phoenix."

**So, this is chapter 6. I have been in a massive writers block, I mean, a writers block the size of Manhatten! It's been horrible.**

**This is what I managed to come up with for chapter six. It's a lot shorter than normal, because of the writers block.**

**If you guys have any suggestions to make it better, because I think it's horrible, please share them!**

**I do have plans for the next chapter. It's going to be difficult to pull off, and it will definitely have some twists, but hey, it's fanfiction!**

**Leave advice, please! Thanks!  
**


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